Over the years, Ron Nelson has proven his compositional virtuosity time and again. With Passacaglia (homage on the tones represented in the name B-A-C-H), his efforts were rewarded by winning the Ostwald Award, the National Band Association Composition Contest, and the Sudler International Wind Band Composition Contest. A set of continuous variations built on a repeating (in various voicings) eight-measure melody appearing, in all, 25 times, make this a significant work where every player is challenged. Nelson aptly describes it as seamless series of tableaux moving from darkness to light.